Swordfish and mint pasta

/5

PRESENTATION

The aromas and flavors of Sicily on your table: fresh swordfish and mint pasta is a first course that is simple to prepare, but delicious to enjoy and share! The secret? Fresh mint leaves that exalt the flavor of sword fish: together with eggplant and tomatoes, you'll discover a corner of Sicily, forkful after forkful. Typical, simple and genuine ingredients make this recipe a truly great first course: we served it with Caserecce pasta, but you can try it with your favorite short pasta! Sword fish and mint pasta is delicious served hot, freshly prepared, or cold, as a pasta salad; it makes a wonderful first course for lunch or a summer dinner. Gather all the ingredients together and get to work: are you ready to ask for seconds?

INGREDIENTS

Paccheri pasta 0.75 lb (320 g)
Swordfish 1 lb (500 g)
Mint to taste
Round eggplants ½ (0.5 g)
Garlic 1 clove
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Fine salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Brandy 3 tbsp (44 g)
Red Tropea onions ½
Datterino tomatoes 0.66 lb (300 g)
Basil to taste
White wine ⅔ cup (135 g)
Breadcrumbs 1 ¼ cup (150 g)
Parsley to taste
For frying the eggplants
Extra virgin olive oil to taste
Preparation

How to prepare Swordfish and mint pasta

To prepare the swordfish and mint pasta, finely chop the parsley 1. Cut the swordfish 2 to obtain cubes of 1 inch (2 cm) 3.

In a pan pour a drizzle of oil, add a few sprigs of mint and an unpeeled garlic clove 4. Add the chopped parsley and a pinch of salt 6.

Add the swordfish 7 and let it sizzle before adding salt and pepper, and removing the garlic 8. After a few minutes it will be white and soft, then deglaze with brandy 9: flame the mixture by tilting the pan on the stove. Pay close attention to the flame.

As soon as the alcohol has evaporated, set the swordfish aside, covered with a plate 10. Clean the onion and slice it 11. Then cut the tomatoes into 4 parts 12

Boil some water to cook the pasta while in the previous pan, pour a little more oil, the onion and brown it with a pinch of salt 13. Add the cherry tomatoes 14 and chopped mint and basil 15.

After 5 minutes of cooking, add white wine 16 and when the alcohol has evaporated, lower the heat and let it cook. Meanwhile, in another pan pour the breadcrumbs 17 and let toast, stirring constantly. Once golden brown, turn off the heat and continue stirring for a few more moments. Then add a drop of oil, mix again 18.

Keep stirring until it is crumbly 19, then set aside. Switch to the eggplant: wash it, trim and slice it 20. Cut it into cubes roughly as big as the swordfish ones 21

Heat some extra virgin olive oil and fry the diced eggplant a little at a time 22. Once it turns golden brown, drain on absorbent paper 23. TIme to cook the paccheri in boiling salted water 24.

Pour the swordfish 25, the eggplant 26 in the cherry tomatoes and add a ladleful of pasta water 27.

Drain paccheri al dente, pour it in the sauce 28 and finish cooking, stirring often and being careful not to break the paccheri 29. One last stir and turn the heat off 30.

Serve by adding the toasted breadcrumbs 31, a basil leaf 32 and mint to each plate. Your swordfish and mint pasta is ready 33.

Storage

It is advisable to immediately consume the swordfish and mint pasta.

Tips

Grate a little salted ricotta on the surface: it will taste delicious!

Trattoria U Fucularu

"U Fucularu" is the name of a typical family-run restaurant in Catania, where the caponata is a must. Even the New York Times recommends tasting it here if you are in Catania. The same goes for Pasta alla Norma, for how it is artfully cooked with local products, a tribute to true tradition. The owner Melina cooks with the recipes of her great-grandmother, grandmother and mother, adding her personal touch to the dishes, without betraying the Sicilian gastronomic culture ... indeed, bringing it to its maximum expression in flavors and aromas. A place where you can appreciate home cooking and feel right at home.